The present invention relates in general to refrigerant material transfer devices for automotive air conditioning systems and more particularly to refrigerant material transfer devices having quick connect fittings with design features for manufacture of the fittings from plastic material.
The present invention also relates in general to tire sealant material transfer devices for automotive tires and more particularly to tire sealant material transfer devices having quick connect fittings with design features for manufacture of the fittings from plastic material.
Automotive air conditioners periodically require servicing to maintain the proper level of refrigerant for efficient operation of the air conditioner. Automotive air conditioners have valved connectors for recharging the air conditioner with additional refrigerant or other materials, such as lubricants. On occasion, a small amount of refrigerant should be added to the air conditioner to increase their cooling effect and efficiency.
Service stations have equipment for recharging automotive air conditioners but the inconvenience and costs for performing this service are substantial. It is desirable for a consumer to inexpensively recharge his own automotive air conditioner at his convenience. It is also desirable that the cost of such an automotive air conditioning recharger be minimized with improved operational features.
In many cases, it is difficult to position tools or the operators fingers to mechanically attached an air conditioning recharger, such as by a threaded connector, to the automotive air conditioner connector. Accordingly, it is desirable provide a quick connect connector that provides for attachment to the automotive air conditioner connector quickly and efficiently without the need for additional tools or manual twisting of the connector components.
Do-it-yourself automotive air conditioner rechargers are known. One such recharger provides an aerosol can having refrigerant and oil therein with a valve in fluid communication with the aerosol can. A tube is attached to the valve and conveys the refrigerant to a quick connect fitting. The quick connect fitting is attachable to and detachable from the valved connector on the automotive air conditioner and allows refrigerant to flow into the automotive air conditioner when attached to the automotive connector.
The quick connect fitting has a series of balls positioned in pockets about its outer periphery to engage a depression in the air conditioner connector. The known quickconnect fitting has an outer sleeve biased with a spring toward the series of balls to urge the balls toward the depression in the air conditioner connector. A spring clip is provided to stop move of the outer sleeve which would allow disassembly of the numerous components of this known quick connect fitting. The assembly of this quick connect fitting requires the positioning of the balls in their respective pockets, assembling the outer sleeve with its biasing spring and assembling the spring clip to prevent disassembly of these components. The cost of the numerous components of such a quick connect fitting, along with the cost of their assembly result in a more costly product for the consumer to recharge his automotive air conditioner.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a quick connector that has a fewer parts that are more readily assembled and in which the parts are particularly designed to be formed in plastic. In order to provide a quick connector that is easy to assemble, it is desirable to allow for assembly of the sleeve and body of the quick connector by simply sliding them into an assembled relationship and when assembled, restrain the disassembly of the body and sleeve without additional separate components.
When operating a quick connector, it is desirable to maintain the body and sleeve in either a locked position, in which the quick connector is secured to the automotive connector, or an unlocked position, in which the quick connector can be freely removed from the automotive connector without requiring additional parts.
Gillen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,109, discloses an actuator and hose assembly for use with an aerosol container to recharge the automotive air conditioner. The Gillen reference provides an aerosol can having refrigerant therein with a valve in fluid communication with the aerosol can. A tube is attached to the valve and conveys the refrigerant to a threaded fitting which attaches to the automotive connector. The threaded fitting may be of any known design and is attachable to and detachable from the valved connector on the automotive air conditioner. The threaded fitting allows refrigerant to flow from the aerosol container into the automotive air conditioner when attached to its connector. The particular threaded fitting shown in Gillen does not allow for quick connection of the assembly to the automotive air conditioner connector.
The automotive connector is valved so that refrigerant cannot escape the automotive air conditioner unless the automotive connector valve is actuated. Once the automotive connector valve is actuated, it is desirable to allow flow of refrigerant into the automotive air conditioner but not allow refrigerant to flow or escape from the automotive air conditioner. One known automotive connector valve design is a known Schrader valve. Such a valve has a pin that when depressed opens the valve. Normally, the valve is in a closed position in which refrigerant is sealed in the air conditioning system.
White, U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,110, discloses a do-it-yourself kit for recharging an automobile air conditioning system by connecting the source of refrigerant to the automotive connector with a threaded fitting. Hatch, U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,92, discloses a refrigerant material transfer adapter which also threadedly engages the air conditioner fitting. Trachtenburg, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,032, teaches a kit and method for retrofitting an automobile air conditioner.
Known connectors have devices to actuate the automotive connector valve and check valves to allow flow of refrigerant into the automotive air conditioner but not allow refrigerant to flow or escape from the automotive air conditioner.
In the design of a plastic quick connect fitting, it is desirable to provide a plastic check valve that snaps into engagement with another part of the fitting so that it is secured thereto without any separate fastening components. This allows for ready assembly of the valve. It is also desirable that such a plastic valve is sufficiently strong to open the automotive connector valve while providing for a snap fit when assembling the plastic quick connect fitting. It is also desirable that the plastic quick connect fitting valve allows refrigerant to flow through the valve when the valve ball is resting against its valve cage. It is also desirable to provide a plastic quick connect fitting valve that allows sufficient flow of refrigerant therethrough when transferring refrigerant from the refrigerant container to the automotive air conditioner.
Modern pneumatic tires are designed for extended use on vehicles, such as automobiles and trucks, over many miles. Regardless of how well these tires are designed, they can still be punctured by sharp objects inadvertently left on the roadway and go flat. When the tire is punctured, the motorist must change the tire if he has a spare or have another tire put on the vehicle. In some instances, it is difficult to change the tire due to the location of the vehicle, such as when the puncture occurs on roadway which is not flat and the vehicle cannot be safely raised with a jack to change the tire. Other instances are dangerous to change the tire, such as for example, when the tire is punctured on a heavily traveled roadway and there is not sufficient space to change the tire safely.
Various tire inflator and sealant products have been developed for both sealing the puncture in a tire and also inflating the tire so that it can be used to resume travel where the tire puncture may be repaired. These tire inflator and sealant products generally include a container having an inflator and sealant composition contained therein under pressure. This composition is releasable through a valve in the discharge end of the container. These compositions in the container typically include a liquefied gas in a sufficient quantity to re-inflate the tire to a driveable condition and a sealant material for sealing the puncture when introduced into the tire.
An actuator is provided for attachment to the pressurized container to activate the upstanding valve so that the tire sealant material passes through the valve and then through the actuator to a discharge tube attached to the valve on the tire.
A connector is provided to connect the discharge tube to the tire valve. In operation, the motorist attaches the discharge tube to the valve on the punctured tire with the connector and then activates the actuator which in turn activates the valve in the pressurized container to release the tire sealant composition into the tire.
As the motorist actuates or depresses the actuator, the inflator and sealant composition flows into the actuator from the canister valve and proceeds through the discharge tube and then through the valve on the punctured tire into the tire. If the inflator and sealant composition is allowed to escape at the junction between the connector and the tire valve, both the inflator and sealant are not introduced into the tire. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a connector that maintains the connection between the actuator and the tire valve so that the inflator and sealant does not escape at that junction.
The motorist often connects the connector to the tire valve under adverse conditions and it is desirable to connect and disconnect the connector to and from the tire valve as quickly as possible. In cold weather, it is desirable to connect and disconnect the connector to and from the tire valve while wearing gloves. It is also desirable to minimize leakage of tire sealant material when the connector is disconnected from the tire valve after discharging tire sealant material into the tire. It is also desirable to provide a connector that provides for maintaining alignment between the tire valve and the connector when they are attached.
Other tire valve connectors are known. Many such connectors have threads that engage the threads on the outer surface of the tire valve. Such connectors do not allow a quick connection or disconnection to or from a tire valve and are particularly difficult to manipulate while wearing gloves. In such designs, there is the potential problem of crossthreading the connector and tire valve, leakage of tire sealant material upon disconnection of the connector and tire valve.
A known tire valve connector is provided for attaching a container having tire puncture sealing material to the valve of a tire. As is known, the tire valve has a pin which when depressed, opens the tire valve. The tire valve connector has an inner member and an outer member further described in the information disclosure statement filed herewith. The outer member has an input end which is attachable to the container having tire puncture sealing material. The outer member also as an output end which is attachable to a tire valve so that tire puncture sealing material can flow through the tire valve connector and into the tire.
The inner member is slidably received in the outer member and has four fingers which are positioned adjacent the output end of the outer member. There are spaces between the fingers to allow movement of the fingers. The fingers have ribs thereon for gripping the outside of the tire valve.
When it is desirable to connect the tire sealing material container to the tire valve and convey the tire sealing material into the tire through the valve, the tire valve is positioned adjacent the output end of the tire valve connector. The tire valve is inserted between the fingers until the end of the valve contacts and seats on the sealing washer and the tire valve pin is depressed to open the tire valve. The inner member has a tire valve depressor that contacts the tire valve pin to open it when the tire valve is so moved. The inner member has a passageway to allow tire sealing material to flow therethrough and into the tire.
As the tire valve is continued to be moved towards the input end of the outer member, the outer surfaces of the fingers have a cam surface which are complimentary to cam surfaces on the inside of the outer member. Upon further movement of tire valve towards the input end of the outer member, the fingers are camed inwardly by the complimentary cam surfaces so that the fingers move radially inwardly with the ribs gripping the outside of the tire valve. The outer member has an opening and a series of ribs which contact the outer surface of the inner member and guide the inner member as it moves towards the input end of the outer member.
In this position, the tire valve is in an open position and in fluid communication with the container having tire puncture sealing material. To introduce tire puncture sealing material into the tire, an actuator between the valve connector and the container having tire puncture sealing material therein is activated to allow tire puncture sealing material to flow through the tire valve connector, through the tire valve and consequently into the tire.
After a sufficient amount of tire puncture sealing material is transferred to the tire, the actuator is deactivated to keep the rest of the tire puncture sealing material in its container. The tire valve is then removed from the tire valve connector by moving it away from the connector. A series of raised staked portions are formed in the output end of the outer member. These staked portions are formed after the inner member is assembled with the outer member and hold the inner member in an assembled position as the tire valve is disengaged from the tire valve connector.